How to get ahead in a never-ending race that can’t be won

How to get ahead in a never-ending race that can’t be won

With the number and sophistication of cyber threats continuing to grow, Zyxel has responded to the needs of its customers by adding a sandboxing option to its popular USG Flex range of security appliances – Thorsten Kurpjuhn, Security Market Development Manager Europe, explains.

The biggest challenge with cybersecurity is that it is a never-ending race. One that, quite honestly, we can never win. As soon as new threats are detected, we will – of course – shut them out by updating our software and services. But cybercriminals will soon find ways around our defences once again, so we have to be constantly vigilant.

Even so, there is always a small gap between the time when a new threat or vulnerability is detected and the moment it is closed off as a potential route into networks. This is what we describe as a ‘zero-day’ threat. More often than not, the gap will not be a whole day – it will usually be a matter of hours . But within that timeframe, there is always the risk that some kind of malware will get through.

Isolating attacks

One effective way of countering zero-day threats is to use what we call a sandbox. This is a secure virtual area into which anything that is identified as a potential threat to your system can be isolated while it is checked for potentially malicious content or intent.

We have provided sandbox functionality on our high-end, premium ATP security appliances for a while now. ATP devices provide the best levels of protection and as such, they are crammed with advanced features, such as sandboxing, as standard.

Our USG Flex range, meanwhile, is designed for smaller businesses and provides excellent security without all the advanced capabilities you’d find on the ATP series. As it’s a really good and more affordable option, USG Flex devices are extremely popular.

But with the growth in ‘zero-day’ threats we have been seeing on recent times, we’ve had more customers and partners asking us to provide sandboxing capability for the USG Flex. We always try to respond positively to our customers’ changing needs and we’re now giving USG Flex customers the option to purchase a sandbox licence as an added extra with USG Flex.

Constant struggle

If you already have a USG Flex appliance/s installed, the sandbox is something that you can simply add to your existing set-up. New customers can opt to include it from the day they purchase the device.

The sandbox will give you a good level of protection from as-yet unknown threats that could potentially open the door to your network for cybercriminals. For any organisation that is concerned about threats such as ransomware, it’s an additional investment worth making. The constant fight against cybercriminals is one we can never win completely. But with a sandbox in place, you can get ahead and massively reduce the chances of being exposed.

If you’d like to know more, please contact your local Zyxel office or partner.